Thomas Tipton

First they hand out taxpayer dollars as incentives for home owners to install solar panels, then, when the amount of energy being produced is on the threshold of overwhelming the power grid itself, they tax the taxpayer who's solar panels were incentivized to pay for the upgrades to the grid.  As always, the utility comes out on top.

Benjamin.  I see I misunderstood the part of it being a black oven.  But isn't it true that by removing the insulation and directing the flue gases around the outer oven shell, the oven will still heat up, though perhaps more slowly?  That had been my plan.  To direct the post-riser flue gases around the oven, keeping the interior sealed off from the smoke.

I find this build very inspiring.  I had a smallish electric oven that mounted in a wall cabinet that no longer functioned that I was considering doing something like this with.  Unfortunately, it was destroyed in the process of removing it from the wall.   So much for my plan!  But your results clearly show that an oven can be repurposed in this way with very good results.  It is a white oven, and I think that is a big plus.  Have you thought about putting a thermometer on it?
Thanks for sharing!

Tamara,

Thomas is correct, but also important to mention is the fact that by the time the air/fuel mixture has exited the riser and enters the radiator-like steel barrel, most, if not all of the atmospheric oxygen has already been used to oxidize the wood gas fuel and is no longer available to oxidize the steel in your drum.

Many say that a Stainless Steel drum is far superior to a steel drum as it will outlast a steel drum and is far more aesthetically pleasing.

I love it when a story has a happy ending.

Call me crazy, but if I'm going to go to the trouble to construct a raised garden bed, I want it up high enough to nearly eliminate bending over to tend it.  My last raised bed was constructed of 2" x 12"s and was 24" high, 2 foot wide x 6 feet long.  It served us so well that I am strongly motivated to make some more, slightly bigger.  Probably going for 2.5' x 8 feet this time.  Loading the first two thirds of the bed with punky firewood and well aged sticks from the compost area saved a ton on how much compost was needed to fill it.

Hugel Beet is a new term for me.  But that is exactly what I set up for my wife last year.  I used 2"x12" lumber and build a hugel beet 2 feet tall and 6 feet long.  filled 2/3 with punky firewood and larger sticks and stems from the compost pile, then topped it off with screened compost from the pile using a 2" x 4" frame with 1/4" hardware cloth for the screen.  There was already some dirt and sand mixed in the compost so we just left it at that.  After an initial watering, the compost stayed wet almost all summer long with only a few extra waterings.  Seemed moist compost was always just a few inches beneath the surface.  Beans, tomato, cucumber, peppers, lettuce.  All grew exceptionally well and were even more pleased that we didn't have to bend over hardly at all to enjoy any of it.

Planning on building 5 more this year.  Maybe bigger, like 2 1/2 x 8.

Outstanding build Glenn!

You have done us all a service with your excellent documentation.  Thanks for sharing your experience.

Forgive me if I haven't read all the suggested fixes in detail, but what often comes up in these troubleshooting discussions is a question about the size of the plenum going from the barrel to the ductwork.  That transition is an important area and subject to creating a choke point.  Again, please excuse me if this has already been mentioned.  I also am of a mind that a full size oil drum is probably moving in the right direction as well.

Masonry Heater Association Reference Manual